Bluray Review: The Pink Panther 2

Steve Martin Reprises the Role of Bumbling Inspector Clouseau

Jul 6, 2009

This follow-up to the popular 2006 remake, sees the infamous Inspector Jacques Clouseau clumsily making his way through the hunt for a famed thief, named Tornado. 7.5/10

While keeping with the tradition begun by Blake Edwards with his series of Pink Panther movies in the 1970's, the producers of The Pink Panther 2 decided to have some further fun with the concept.

This time, Clouseau and an international "Dream Team" of detectives, are charged with tracking down a famed thief known as Tornado, who comes out of retirement to steal some of the world's most precious artifacts.

It has been a few years since the events of the first Pink Panther film, where Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin, Shopgirl) had recovered the famed Pink Panther diamond, treasure of the French people. Now, a semi-retired thief named Tornado (Johhny Halliday) has come out of hiding, and stolen some of the most sought after items --- the pope's ring, the Shroud of Turin, the Japanese Emperor's Sacred Sword, and the Magna Carta. When the recovered Pink Panther jewel also goes missing, Clouseau and a handful of international investigative talent (Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki, Aishwarya Rai) set off to locate both Tornado, and the cache of priceless goods.

Of course, with Clouseau on the case (much to the chagrin of Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, played by Monty Python alum John Cleese, replacing Kevin Kline from the first film), there is bound to be some serious collateral damage, as the clumsy detective wreaks a path of accidental destruction, as he investigates in his own peculiar way.

With the help of his assistant Ponton (Jean Reno, The Professional), Clouseau will stop at nothing to recover both the Pink Panther as well as the worldwide artifacts.

There are many who could lament the decision to produce new Panther films sans Peter Sellers, he who made a series of memorable comedies with Blake Edwards a few decades back. Still, Steve Martin manages to make the character his own, bringing his own brand of often dry humor to the screen.

Martin keeps some of the famous Clouseau idiosyncrasies (the muddled English with heavy French pronunciation, an inability to grasp the most obvious of social concepts, an over exagerrated sense of civic duty), and offers a Clouseau for the new generation.

All of the usual elements are here again, with some obvious changes --- Ponton replacing Kato, and getting a fuller role than in the original films --- but overall still staying within the conventions of the Pink Panther mold.

This sequel to the 2006 movie by Shawn Levy has a higher caliber cast than its predecessor, with new helmer Harold Zwart taking advantage of the plot's use of an international dream team of detectives, to bolster its marquee potential. Andy Garcia and Alfred Molina are excellent straight men opposite Martin, and offer plenty of opportunities for him to make further Clouseau-esque faux-pas.

Emily Mortimer is back as Nicole, an assistant/colleague of Clouseau's within the police department, whose love for the inspector may never fully bloom into a full relationship, since the clueless lawman can't see what's right in front of him.

Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai adds some spice to this love triangle, as Sonia Solandres, a famed criminologist, and secret past flame of Tornado (French heyday star Johhny Halliday).

Yuki Matsuzaki has very little to do as the computer specialist on the dream team, and Jeremy Irons makes a brief appearance as a possible suspect to the crimes. Blink and you'll probably miss him.

There are a handful of featurettes (standard on most DVDs and Blurays nowadays), most of them forgettable, the more interesting one being the Gag Reel. In any physical comedy starring this caliber of comedians, it's always fun to see them mess up a line, or riff on an obvious flub here and there.

Also, a second disc contains 27 classic Pink Panther cartoons, which will no doubt be a hit for the older generation (including yours truly) who had a chance to catch these 1960's toons in reruns about ten years later. Good fun, if you're into that sort of thing.

Many will see this title on the video store shelf, and ask themselves whether they need to watch the first Panther film to understand this sequel's relevance, or context. Well, it won't hurt if viewers have an existing idea of who Clouseau is, walking into this movie. Those who don't will still find some humor to their taste, even if however brief an experience it would turn out to be.

7.5 out of 10 for being a simple, unpretentious comedy, allowing Steve Martin a stab at the Clouseau character.

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